5) Use advanced searching and limits:

PubMed

PubMed is one of the premier article databases used in the health sciences. Follow these tips to become a more effective PubMed searcher:

1) Limiting your search

To limit your search in PubMed, first conduct a search on the homepage and then look at the menu on the left-hand side of the page. Some useful limits are article type, species, sex, ages, and more.

2) Using MeSH

MeSH stands for "Medical Subject Headings". These subject terms will allow you to find articles that are about a certain topic even if they don't use those exact words in the article. Learning how to use MeSH will help you to become a much more precise and efficient searcher.

Some basic tips:

If you have found an article you're interested in, scroll down below the abstract and click on the link for "Publication Types, MeSH Terms, and Substances".

Click on the MeSH Terms of interest to add to your search.

The terms with an asterisk next to them mean that they are a "major" term, so the articles you find will have that term as a major concept.

On the PubMed homepage, select "MeSH" from the drop-down menu next to the search box. Enter your search term to see which term PubMed prefers.

For instance, if you search for the term heart attack, PubMed will suggest that you search for the term myocardial infarction instead.

If desired, select subheadings. For instance, drug therapy or genetics.